Forget the stressful dinner party for twelve. How many home cooks really drag out the china, silver, and linen more than a few times a year these days? Mum's very best crowd-cuisine is fun, relaxed, and informal. From a hungry group of the kids' friends looking for afternoon munchies to a potluck office farewell party to a barbecue for the neighbourhood, today's typical gatherings are casual occasions to share hearty, homemade food. "Mom's Best Crowd-Pleasers" is full of recipes that reflect the way Mum really cooks today, simply tailored to feed eight or more people. Most recipes are designed to feed eight hungry people, but author (and home cook) Andrea Chesman provides advice throughout on expanding recipes, stretching dishes when the dinner seating unexpectedly grows from eight to eleven people, using clever shortcuts that make cooking for a crowd no more difficult than cooking for four, and generally maintaining a degree of sanity as more people come flooding through the front door.